Training the Soul

Sun Jun 19, 2016 12:51 am

Jai yawned as he made his way to the training field, holding a small, black and white scroll with the technique he was planning to train in his right hand. It was the Shadow Clone Jutsu, a good technique to add to Jai’s style of fighting. As he had gained a new force in his physical powers, he need to gain a new power in his spiritual ability. He relaxed for a little while at home before going to the academy and researching this technique and thought about what he should learn next, trying to recall if he had learned any fire release jutsu. He realized that the only one he did know allowed him to heat metals for smithing, while the techniques he knew within the realm of swordsmenship actually did some real damage. When he realized this, he set himself on the path he wanted to and now, here he was.

A minute or two later, he found himself smack dab in the middle of an old training field, and sat himself down next to a puddle of water. He stuck his finger in, and figured that the water was probably two and a half inches deep. He didn't quite have forming handseals and focusing his chakra down packed, but he knew that with some practice he'd be able to form his chakra into the current form with practice without a bit of assistance. But for now, he resigned himself to the fact he just wasn't good enough at the moment, but he would be soon enough. That's what this training was about. With a sigh, he pulled out the scroll, rolling it open and examined it closely. Jai decided to use the tiger seal to activate the jutsu as it was more specialized. When he had it down, he stood up and breathed in, held it, then let it out. Jai started practicing creating the seal, not putting any chakra into the jutsu just yet. He went over it multiple times, moving his hands faster each and every time. He kept doing this until he was moving them at a rate of two every three seconds, then decided that would do for now. He took another breath, then started doing the seal while creating a chakra flow through his body and hands, the energy near his body rising into the air, turning into smoke. Jai furrowed his brow in concentration. His golden eyes were closed at the moment, focusing as hard as he could. This was the hardest technique he had ever tried to learn, but he was devoted. Jai stopped the flow of chakra and opened his eyes to see if the clone had formed or not.

Jai opened his eyes and saw that only the outline of a solid clone had formed. Disappointed with his performance, he released the chakra holding the clone together. Jai bit his lip, then decided to try and increase the amount of chakra he put into the jutsu. He stiffly crafted the hand seals a few more times, then started the actual jutsu again. He put twice as much chakra into it, and was satisfied when the energy swirled into the air again, throwing off little flecks of dirt from the ground as it did so, and started to form a single clone again. Jai used a bit more chakra and assisted the formation with focusing on concentrating more chakra into the effort, along with making sure to focus the energy carefully, and within a few seconds there was a fully formed shadow clone smiling in front of him. Jai smiled, then released the clone.

"Let's try for two..." He whispered to himself. Jai started the jutsu again, the handseal forming much faster than before, and felt the chakra flow through him. The pool of energies rose again, turning into smoke and split into two seperate pillars. Again, the young swordman assisted with some extra chakra being added. The clones formed, then started to visibly wobble when Jai lost a bit of focus. He steeled himself, then forced the clones to continue. He was pleased to see that there were now two clones in front of him. Both just stood there, waiting for him to tell them what to do. Jai tried to make the one on the left walk forward, but as soon as it took a step it collapsed into smoke.

"Damn." He could make them, they just needed stability. Jai said, analyzing everything that had just happened. "Dad would've gotten this on the first try! Come on Jai, do better!" He said to himself in a chastising way.

He cracked his neck, knowing that he had to focus more with this jutsu than he had for many beforehand. He ran a hand through his grayish-white hair, then moved to a channeling his chakra pool. He performed the tiger seal yet again, but only created one clone this time. Focusing hard, Jai made the clone walk a few steps, then made it jog a bit. He smiled, then made the clone do some basic punches and kicks. Finally it was made to run around Jai.

"Time to test you, for real!", he exclaimed, signaling the clone to start attacking him, dodging every shot as he knew they were coming. After a minute or two of this, Jai stopped, breathing a bit hard with the clone being active. "Now, let's get two of you, buddy." Reassuring himself, Jai released the clone, dissipating it into smoke and then making two more out of its essence. At this point, he estimated that about a quarter of his chakra was used up. Jai practiced making both clones move simultaneously, then made them fight each other. They punched and kicked, missing all the time as both clones dodged. Jai laughed, watching as his creations work well. Jai let both clones go, then stretched out the kinks that were starting to develop in his legs from standing in one position too long. He yawned again, realizing that he had probably been out here for the better part of an hour. He hadn't learned a new jutsu this slowly since he figured out tree climbing way back when he was... Wait. How old had he been?

[3 years ago]

Jai, who was much younger at the time, faced the huge tree. How the hell did ninja's run up these things? He knew it had something to do with chakra, but Jai hadn't figured out how to get chakra to stay still on his feet yet. "You can do this" He bit his lip, then backed up. With a yell, he ran to the tree and jumped, chakra in his feet. He got about ten feet up before falling back down, hard. "Owww," he groaned.

After about twelve more tries, Jai screamed in frustration. He stormed around, then remembered something his father always told him.

"A shinobi doesn't let anger control him. With anger comes frustration, with frustration comes lack of focus. With lack of focus comes lack of control, and with lack of control comes death." Jai closed his eyes, then breathed in and out to calm himself. When he opened his eyes, he had a look of determination in them. The boy ran at the tree again, this time focusing so hard it hurt his head. He ran up the trunk... Ten... Twenty... Thirty feet! Jai stopped and sat on a branch at this point and looked down, smiling to himself. He had done it!

[Present Day]

Jai smiled. He had just joined the academy back when the village was still Shimagakure when he figured out by himself how to climb trees with his feet. He looked up to the sky, then brought his eyes back down. He had that same look of determination that he had had that day so long ago. He quickly did his handseal, attempting to summon two clones, once again. But they didn't form at all... Then Jai realized he had less chakra then he expect. He had to focus his energy more carefully, fixing the mistake, he tried again. The two clones appeared in a few seconds, and Jai furrowed his brow again as he maintained them. Through his chakra, he commanded them to move. Both moved in step with each other, like a duo of soldiers. That alone was difficult for Jai, so he decided to hold them there until he got up the guts to make them battle.

[word count 1412]